Avatar: The Legend of After
by theAirshipLibrarian
Summary: "The Dai Li are loyal only to you." So it was spoken to Azula before her fall from the throne and into prison. What has happened to them now? Did they go back to the Earth Kingdom, or stay in the Fire Nation? This fanfiction is a possible way that I believe the story could continue.
1. Chapter 1

Wei, the leader of the Dai Li, crept through the Fire Nation capital silently and stealthily. In the town area the guards were limited to basic fire-benders, with one or two martial artists who had been taught by the Kyoshi warriors. The elite Fire Warriors and Kyoshi warriors were palace guards and protectors of the Fire Lord and Lady themselves. Luckily for Wei, the basic guards weren't a problem.

One of them, a stocky young woman, patrolled by the dark alleyway where he was hiding, pressed against one of the stone walls. She passed by him stupidly, and he sneered. It'd be so easy to kill her here and now; it would be no difficulty, considering her easy pace and slack form. But his task today would be endangered by senseless killing. All that would be necessary was for him to get between point A and point B unseen.

In this case, Point B was the prison on the royal grounds, meaning that in a very short time, Wei would be facing the well-known Kyoshi warriors.

As the pitiful guard turned a corner, the Dai Li agent ran in silence through the dark streets, pausing where he had to, hiding behind barrels, and suddenly jumping up into roof tops when necessary. When he neared the treacherous grounds, he stopped and took a deep breath before zigzagging and rushing to a blind spot on the wall of the prison. Using his bending, he loosed bits of earth scatter and fly in the opposite direction, getting the Prison Guards' attention, and then he slipped inside like a ghost.

* * *

Fire Lord Zuko still found it unspeakably strange to be sitting on his father's, grandfather's, and great-grandfather's throne. The red, yellow, and orange flames that flickered on the looming walls of the vast room were present in all his childhood nightmares, and it was hard to picture them as anything other than cruel and harsh. Yet now they were his. The flames created by his own hand on the day of his coronation.

He felt an overwhelming tiredness flood him, and his hands clutched his robes. _What would Uncle say? _This thought was a common one, used whenever he felt confused. He stood and walked heavily down the steps from the dais and paced. "Zuko, the throne needn't always be tainted by the corruption of your forefathers. You have the power and the goodness in you to cleanse the Fire Lord's place."

"Blah, blah, blah." He started as a wry female voice interrupted his thoughts. Mai came up behind him and gave him a short hug. At his slight look offense, she reached up to draw his head down and gave him a kiss. "I'm kidding, Zuko. You are good, and the Fire Nation will regain its honour with you at the head."

Zuko gave a small smile, not quite ready to accept her belief in him, but getting there. "I'll have to try, at the very least."

"Yes, but do you have to stay here now? You only use this room for important meetings and when you're seeing people. It's torturous, and I'm bored of Ty Lee. If I have to spend another moment staring at her crazy, Kyoshi make-up I'll vomit."

Zuko chuckled, some real joy spreading through him, pushing his low self-esteem out of his mind for the time being. "I'd love to, Mai, I would, but I received a notice that the Dai Li Leader wants an audience. I've avoided it as long as I can, but now have to hear what he says."

"The Dai Li?" Mai's eyebrows knitted together, and she frowned. "Why him? Why are they still here anyway?"

Zuko nodded, his face mirroring hers in its seriousness. "I guess I'll find out today." He glanced at his wife sidewise, too nervous to ask the question on his mind.

"I'll stay for the meeting," she said, answering the unspoken question. "But you'll have to do something extremely exciting later to make up for the boredom of it."

With a grin, he said, "I think I may be able to manage that. Being a Fire Lord and all."

Mai's usually bland expression stretched into a small smile, and she put her hand on Zuko's shoulder. "I look forward to it."

"Ahem." The pair sprung apart and turned red at the cough. They turned to see the Kyoshi Leader, Suki, standing before them, her green outfit swishing the stone floor, and a lousy attempt at keeping her amusement at bay. "The Dai Li leader is here, Fire Lord Zuko. Should I show him in?"

Zuko nodded, all his earlier playfulness evaporating into the air. The fires outlining his throne grew a little in their intense heat. He climbed the stairs back to the dais, and arranged himself on his throne, then directed his gaze towards the entrance. "Let's see what my sister's old agents want to talk about today," he muttered as Wei, with one other Dai Li agent at his side entered and bowed before him. "This should be interesting."


	2. Chapter 2

"Fire Lord Zuko," Wei's voice was low, and his head was bowed.

"The Dai Li," Zuko replied, realizing that he had no clue what to call the man, or how to respond to him.

"Wei, Fire Lord. Wei Ling."

"Well then, Wei Ling, what exactly do you want?"

Wei glanced up, his face carefully guarded. "We Dai Li agents are skilled fighters and body guards, but prefer, no, we require a leader to give orders and be behind us."

"That leader was my sister." Zuko didn't even attempt diplomacy, or to keep the coldness out of his voice.

Wei's reply was even and carefully spoken. "At one point, Fire Lord, yes, she was. But... things are different now."

"What's your point?"

"Only that the Dai Li would be willing to be the personal agents of your highness."

If possible, Zuko's already narrow eyes narrowed further as he studied the Dai Li agents. "In the Earth Kingdom you betrayed your first leader, now you're betraying my sister, and you expect me to employ you?"

"I think you'll understand, Fire Lord Zuko, when I say that betraying Long Feng for the Princess wasn't what you might call a voluntary act." Wei allowed his eyes to look directly into the Fire Lord's, sincerity ringing in his voice.

Zuko stiff shoulders relaxed an iota. "Yes, things can be... hard... with Azula." Though he couldn't see her now that she'd backed into the shadows, he could easily imagine the slight bitter smile on Mai's face- a smile so small, and the bitterness so well hidden that only one who knew her very well could detect the expression.

He stood on his throne, looming above Wei and his warriors. "Which is exactly why you'll be given a probationary period. I make no promises to employ you, trust you, or even keep you alive. All I promise is a short period where I will allow you to work, and then decide the next course of action. Now go."

Wei bowed his head to the ground once more in respect, stood, and walked away with his weird dress-like uniform rustling. His two friends followed, still silent. It seemed their only purpose was for show.

"That was weird," Mai said, coming back into the light. "What are you going to do?"

Zuko stepped down from the dais and towards her. "I'm going to eat something, and possibly drink some tea."

"That's not what I meant, stupid."

"I know," Zuko replied, any lightness vanishing. "And then, while drinking tea, you and are going to come up with a way to track the Dai Li movements and see if they're still working for my sister."

A few minutes later Zuko was sitting cross legged on a big cushion next to Mai on the floor of their living quarters. He'd taken out his Fire-Lord Crown/headdress and let his hair out of its topknot, letting it hang down around his ears and into his eyes. He took a sip of the best tea in the Fire Nation that for all its goodness was still no where as good as the Jasmine Dragon Tea shop in Ba Sing Se. _Uncle, _he thought. _You've ruined me. I'm drinking tea and _thinking. _What've you done? _

"So," Mai began, her cup still untouched on the low table. "Do you trust the Dai Li?"

Zuko snorted. "Not on my life. No matter what that Wei said, they've always had warm feelings toward Azula. I don't know how she managed it, being uncharismatic, cruel, and a jerk all the time, but they _liked _her."

"Yeah," Mai agreed. "In the Earth Kingdom, when she took over, they practically worshipped her every step. It was sickening; even more sickening than wearing that frilly green dress and make-up."

"The thing is: I don't need them. There are the Kyoshi warriors and our guards. And there's _us. _We can protect ourselves, and when we need anything else done, we can find the man power ourselves."

"But we can't leave them here either, because of Azula."

Zuko nodded, and then groaned. "We'll have to keep them busy with some minor task that needs to be done, but doesn't have much priority. Then, as we use them, we can keep an eye on them to see if they're more than they claim."

"Assign a shadow to them," Mai suggested. "Someone discreet, unobvious, and stealthy."

"Ty Lee's stealthy."

"No, Ty Lee is obvious, conspicuous, and just flexible. Don't get those two things confused." Mai sighed. "Believe me Zuko, I know. I know Ty Lee."

"Yes, but," Zuko got up and energetically sent a fireball into the fireplace, making sparks dance precariously close to the edge of the grate. "She also knows Azula, and if there's anyone the Dai Li will trust to "help" them if Azula's the goal, than Ty Lee's the one."

Mai let herself fall backwards so that she was lying on the cushion and staring up at the roof. "But I was her friend too, Zuko. Why not just send me?"

"Your love for me was stronger than anything you felt for Azula. Ty Lee didn't have that."

"Love for you? I should hope not." Mai raised her head to look at him, but it wasn't a good angle and she couldn't see much. "Let's just get to the bottom of this so we don't have to worry anymore. And let's eat. I'm starving."

"You could have sent for a tray while I was still on duty," Zuko said, already on his way to the tassel hanging from the wall next to the door. He pulled it down and downstairs a little bell rang in the kitchens.

Mai let her head fall back so that she wouldn't have to look at her husband. After having been married for a few months already, she didn't feel comfortable voicing anything that sounded like actual loving words. "Not hating," and "kind of liking," were usually the only things that could come out of her throat. "Eating by myself is boring," Mai said eventually, letting Zuko deduce for himself that what she meant was: _I wanted to eat with you. _

The two of them had a lovely dinner on a tray, and had a lovely if somewhat bland evening afterwards of lounging around and talking about everything but Azula in prison, and the possibly changed Dai Li agents.

* * *

Meanwhile, Wei was back at an inn in the financial district of the capital. He, as well as a few other Dai Li agents, were also eating dinner in their rooms. There was an air of preparation and triumph in the room. Wei took about of Comodo-chicken and licked his lips. Everything was going exactly according to plan.

A few hours later, Wei rose to the window. He opened it, jumped out, and landed in a crouch on the ground. Last night's game began once more as he dodged and crept through the city to the prison.

When he finally reached a heavy metal cell he stopped, and then rapped on it lightly with his finger tips. "Princess?"

"Took you long enough," a female voice snapped. "What's the news?"

"A probationary period in which we work for the Fire Lor-" he stopped suddenly as Azula gave an angry cough. "Uh, Zuko. He isn't even close to trusting us."

"Good, good, if Zuzu already has suspicions it will make this a lot more fun, and the victory that much sweeter. We'll stay a step ahead of him the whole time." She laughed, a chilling sound. "Now, go! Make sure no one sees you."

Wei left obediently and quickly, his blood pulsing. Yes, Azula was easy to hate, and not the kindest leader, but there was truth in what he had said to Long Feng months ago in the Earth Kingdom. She was _thrilling. _

Wei may not have said that if he'd dared to peak through the few metal bars of the outer cell wall. If he'd dared to look, he would have seen another cell inside, and a broken girl hunched in the corner, shivering.

As soon as Wei had left, Azula let the commanding tone fall from her voice, and felt her energy rush out of the empty shell that was her body. "I will beat Zuko," she growled, though her voice was only a pale shadow of what it had been. "He won't know what hit him." Yet even as she spoke, she knew that if she was going to beat her no good, older brother she'd have get a hold of herself. These whirling emotions and feelings of defeat were the first things to be vanquished, and only then could she truly regain her rightful place.

She forced herself to stand and walk about the cell. Even walking was hard, but she determined then that soon walking wouldn't be hard. Running would be easy, scaling would once again be easy. She was a natural born fighter, and she'd get that back. And when she was ready, when Zuko was finished, she'd hunt down the Avatar and she'd capture his pretty little girlfriend who'd beaten her, and she'd threaten to kill her if he didn't restore her bending. And then she'd kill her anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

**All right, chapter three coming up. Thank you for the people who reviewed. You are the best! Please read and review, both with positive comments and constructive criticism. :)**

**Chapter Three**

It was not with pleasure that Zuko invited Wei back, but there was a small inkling of anticipation stirring in him. He had, he believed, found a suitable arrangement that would help him keep an eye on the Dai Li, and give them access to Azula- not easy access, of course. They'd have to work to get at her, but it would at least be possible for them if they were clever. Zuko and Mai themselves would watch the Dai Li, deciding in the end that such a job could only be shared between them at this time.

Aang was busy making sure that balance was fully restored to the wounded nations and Katara was with him, of course, and the two were being generally sickening in their lovey-dovey-ness. Toph was teaching metal bending in Ba Sing Se. As for Suki and Sokka, no one really knew, though it was believed that they were back at Kyoshi Island training another generation of warriors. The only two who had any time to spare chasing after the Dai Li and possibly red herrings was the two of them, and they didn't even have time for it.

For the umpteenth time Zuko wondered if he should just do as his sister had been prepared to do- banish the Dai Li back to the Earth Kingdom. But then, if they were decent folks, the city could be rebuilt that much faster. But if they didn't have a drop of human goodness in them... His thoughts ran round and around in circles until Wei Ling and his cronies were ushered into the throne room, and were bowing before him.

First order of business. To question them with the questions that had disturbed him and Mai earlier. He took a deep breath. "Please, Wei, sit up and face me. I get the feeling we'll be here for a while." He forced himself to keep looking straight at Wei's and not glance up for reassurance where Mai was hiding with Ty Lee in the rafters, ready to spring at the first sign of trouble.

"Why are you still here?"

"Wha- Pardon, your highness?" Wei was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"It's a fairly straight forward question, Wei. After my sister banished you, why didn't you leave for the Earth Kingdom?"

One of the other, seemingly mute Dai Li agents finally opened his mouth. "How did you know th-" he trailed off as Wei shot him an angry look.

"I have my ways," he said, grimacing as he thought of Lo and Li, the old twin advisors to Fire Lord's down the ages. No one knew just how old they were. They had been his source about the matter of the Dai Li agents' banishment. "Just answer the question."

"The Princess did banish us and we were getting ready to leave, but before we boarded the ship you had already beaten your sister. We hoped that the new Fire Lord would be fine with us staying."

"And when were you planning on telling me about your status as exiles? Or was that something you were just going to carry with you to the grave?"

Even Wei couldn't come up with a clever, diplomatic response to Zuko's question on the spot. He opted for honesty, hoping it would work out for him this once. "Well, no, our issue was with Azula, not with you so I didn't think it really mattered."

Zuko's glance flickered to the other agent who had spoken earlier. "Do you," he waited for the agent to realizing that, yes, it was him that was being addressed. "Do you think that makes sense?"

"Uh, I guess not. We should have brought the issue to your attention." He ignored the glare being sent into his back by Wei.

"Yes, you should have." Zuko's eyes flickered back over to Wei and settled there coolly. "You seem to possess good sense, uh, I'm sorry. What was your name?"

"Wu-Ning, your highness."

"Thank you Wu-Ning." Turning back to Wei, Zuko said: "I'd suggest taking a lesson from Wu-Ning here, Wei, but no matter. Remember that you must be open and honest in the future, which brings me to your probationary assignment. As you know, all of the nations suffered a severe blow in this war. Homes were destroyed and families scattered." He rose and stepped down from the throne and kept walking down the passage, gesturing that the Dai Li should follow.

He led them out of the palace into the open air of the courtyard. The courtyard was a bustling and laughing place, something that it hadn't been for over a hundred years. It had become a place for town folk to come and sell their wares at the specialized market. There were guards protecting the palace itself from intruders or assassins, but it was a relatively free place, and it rang with laughter. Zuko walked straight through the crowd easily as they all knelt and bowed to let him pass.

The place that he led them was rampart of the wall outside the palace. They climbed up onto the wall and stared out over the city. Many of the houses were charred and damaged. Families were working on building up those houses into liveable homes once more. The walls surrounding the Fire Nation Capital had holes in them from the Gaang's first and failed invasion. Somehow they'd never been repaired.

"Wu-Ning?" Zuko persistently tried to direct his comments to the younger, obviously underling Dai Li agent instead of the true leader. "All of the Dai Li are earthbenders, correct?"

Wu-Ning, humble and uncertain, looked to his leader for approval, but found no hints in Wei's face. "Yes, Fire Lord, it's a prerequisite."

"Good. Then the Dai Li's assignment is this: You shall use your earthbending to rebuild the city, and if that's done properly, you'll be giving a greater, more honourable assignment. Then you shall go back to the Earth Kingdom, and you will help rebuild the villages, towns, and cities there." Zuko clapped his hands once, then turned and strode back down the stairs and into the teeming courtyard of the palace where he would have been lost if not for all the people suddenly stopping to bow for him. Then he disappeared into the palace and life went about as usual once more.

It was clear that he needed nothing more to do with the Dai Li, so they exchanged puzzled glances and then left, grumbling under their breaths.

"He wants us to _rebuild?" _the other Dai Li that had accompanied Wei spoke. "We're well trained, highly classed warriors and he wants us for a building project? Why are we letting him treat us like common carpenters?"

"Patience, Hui," Wei said, holding a hand up to stop the torrent of complaints that were just beginning to spew from out of Hui's thin mouth. "Our time for greatness is not yet, but it will come."

"Not soon enough," Hui muttered, but allowed himself to be mollified.

* * *

As for Zuko, he'd just ducked inside, hid behind a pillar, and taken out his top knot and crown. He handed them to Mai who appeared from seemingly nowhere. In return she gave him a cloak with a large hood that hung down over his face far enough to hide the blatant scar on his eyes. The two of them shared no words and then he slipped back outside and into the crowd. It was relatively easy to spot the Dai Li agents, though getting close enough to overhear their conversation proved a greater challenge.

When he had neared close enough all he'd been able to hear was: "not soon enough," from the other Dai Li agent. It was almost a relief to hear him since Zuko had begun to wonder if he talked or thought at all.

For the next few minutes he heard nothing, but then Wu-Ning spoke. "Of all the differences between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation, I think the climate is the best. It's so much hotter here."

"You like that? I think it's the worst difference." Hui's voice had a natural whine to it. Zuko wondered if that was just his voice or if it had developed over time.

"I wouldn't mind returning to the Earth Kingdom," Wu-Ning said somewhat shyly.

Hui snorted and nudged Wei. "And what would happen? Chances are the old Earth King with his Bosco would arrest us on the spot and throw us in with crazy Long Feng. There's a best difference for you, if you're looking. No Long Feng; that old man let his ambition get in the way of _everything_."

Wei pushed the now too close Hui away from him, and then took a sudden turn into the alley. Zuko, who had been skulking carefully, came to a stop and then backed up and turned the opposite corner. It seemed obvious that Wei had caught on to someone following while his cronies bickered. Maybe this was enough for one day and he'd send Mai or Suki out later to find out where the Dai Li were staying.

By the time Zuko had returned back to the Fire Lord's Palace, the sun was beginning to set. For some reason he'd been able to just go home. He'd mingled with the city folk for a while, relishing in the anonymity of just being a stranger in a hood. Until he'd bought a fire-cake and a large fruit tart and the vender had seen his scar. The vender had promptly dropped onto his knees. A frustrated Zuko had tried to get her (for the vender was a middle aged woman) to stand up. By that time a crowd had gathered and there was no quick escape.

So it was that when he arrived, he held the fruit tart out before him like a peace offering, or maybe a shield. The only ones in the foyer were the guards, and through that there was an empty throne room. Zuko crossed the throne room and pushed some of the curtained walls aside and then stepped into a long and richly decorated hallway that was covered in full length paintings of all the Fire Lords.

Down the hall way the palace branched out and opened into a huge network of rooms, stairs, and passages. Stairs ran down into the kitchens and servants' quarters. A door led out into the gardens out back of the palace. It was in these gardens that the turtle-duck pond was. It was here that Mai was sitting with Ty Lee and one of the other Kyoshi warriors- Shan, he thought her name was.

He smiled at the sight, and then came forward and humbly offered up the fruit tart on a bended knee. By the way Mai had taken the fruit tart carefully and studied it before saying, "couldn't you have done any better?" he knew he'd done pretty well. He'd wait to tell her of what he heard from the Dai Li and of the growing pit of apprehension in his gut. For that matter, maybe he wouldn't tell her about _that _for awhile yet. Let things run their course and see what direction they would take first.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: **

It wasn`t like Azula to pout, but sitting in that prison day after day was tiring, and the Dai Li _still _hadn`t come again. It`d been a whole day! Maybe they really were traitors. She`d been right to banish them. She let out a gargled shout of anger and punched the wall.

But, no, she needed them for the time being. _Calm down, _she told herself. _Even if they do intend to double-cross you in the end, you can still use them for the time being. Like you used Long Feng. _The thought brought self-satisfied smirk to her face. The clueless man, he`d made the mistake of underestimating her and it cost him everything. She laughed. Let anyone try to double-cross her. She could best them with both hands tied behind her back, even without her bending.

Though being able to bend wouldn't hurt, of course.

The day that her fire-bending had been taken away still haunted her dreams. The feeling of the energy flowing through her body, trying to take over her, burning her with more heat than the strongest fire had ever down. When she was tired and sitting in her cell, fighting sleep and being driven mad with the lack of it, she'd once again feel the pulling sensation of the Avatar grasping and yanking her bending away from her. And then the emptiness that was left; it was an emptiness that she felt every second of the day. It would have been better to have a limbed severed, for losing her bending was like losing a part of her soul, not her body. She would never forgive any of the people who had worked to make her defeat possible. Never!

"But," she said aloud to the air. "Enough! My time for revenge will come, but only if I work." She shrugged off her brokenness as best she could and rose. Already walking had become easier and now she practiced running across the cell as far as the chain letter. She didn't resent the chain and ball that dug into her ankles. It would only make her stronger in the end.

She only managed to do five laps of running before getting out of breath. It was pathetic. She dropped down into a push up and managed to lift herself up once before her arms gave out and she collapsed on the metal floor of the prison with shaking arms.

Breathing heavily she pushed herself into a sitting position with her back and head resting against the wall. It was here she was sitting when Wei of the Dai Li arrived with more news. When his quiet voice flitted through the window and into the stifling air of her cell she smiled dangerously. She sat up straighter, crossed her legs, and listened with great care all that Wei had to report. The two of them had plans to make.

* * *

It was a week later when Zuko and Mai received the messenger hawk. They were in disguise and haunting the Dai Li's temporary home. While most of the Dai Li were obliging with Zuko's request and helping to speed along the rebuilding of the city, there were always a few missing, yet whenever they were tracked down and followed they only led to inconsequential places. Only once had one even gone in the directions of the prisons.

Yet this day looked promising. Wei had stayed behind himself which had never happened before, and was skulking off. He was good, Zuko had to admit, and the pair almost lost him more one than once. The general direction wasn't the opposite one of the prisons, which was progress. He shared an excited look with Mai (well, he looked excited, she just looked slightly less bored which, for her, was practically the same thing.)

And then the messenger hawk came. It landed on Zuko's shoulder and he had to stifle a gasp so that Wei wouldn't be alerted. Silently, he and Mai crept back the way they'd come until they were further in the open and a good distance from the Dai Li leader.

"Who's it from?" Mai asked as Zuko brought the hawk down to his arm and took a rolled up piece of paper from the canister.

As he read, his eyebrows fused together and his mouth became drawn. He finished reading and then ignited the paper and then scattered the ashes in the wind. "It was from Sokka."

"What'd he say?"

"Do you want my summary, or his exact words?"

"Exact words please."

Zuko cleared his throat and spread his hands, before beginning to speak, attempting to adopt Sokka's voice and failing. "To our most favourite, and Flaming Fire Lord Zuko, I am entrusting this most important message with the most trustworthy Hawky. Bring him with you when you come, and remember, he likes minnows, but only the orange ones. And the little blue ones that are a little bit purple..."

"Okay, okay," Mai held up a hand. "Give me the summary."

"That's what I thought. He says that things aren't going well in Ba Sing Se and that if possible; we should travel there as soon as possible. He isn't giving us much information, but says that Aang's life is in danger. He also added something about revolts in the city."

"Sounds serious," she said. "Maybe we should go."

"But who'll watch the Dai Li."

Mai sighed and reached up to scratch the back of her neck. "Looks to me like we'll have to go back to the earlier plan and get Ty Lee to do it."

"But you yourself said-"

"I know what I said," she interrupted. "But it looks like she's the one who'll have to do. I trust her more than the other warriors. She saved my life you know."

"I know," Zuko smiled down at her. "Right after you saved mine."

"Yeah, yeah, thank me all you want while we walk. Do you want to brief Ty Lee on the case or should I?"

Zuko blew out a blast of air and rubbed his temples. "You do it; I'm going to get things ready for traveling to the Avatar in Ba Sing Se. Sokka urged us to come immediately, so we should probably leave today under the cover of night."

* * *

Not an hour later, Ty Lee came cartwheeling into Azula's old bedroom. This had been a common room for the girls in the past, and even now Mai and Ty Lee met there. It was a habit that neither of them were able to break, no matter how many bad memories were recalled.

Mai was sitting on the edge of Azula's bed and holding one of her shurikens in both hands, turning it this way and that.

"That was the one Azula gave you for your birthday, isn't it?" Ty Lee asked quietly, coming to sit next to her friend on the bed. Ty Lee was completely outfitted in the Kyoshi uniform, right down to the face plastered in make-up.

"Yeah," Mai said, lifting the shuriken up the light. It was obviously of high quality craftsmanship and it had a flowering design engraved into it, as well as Mai's initials. "Maybe it's wrong, but when I think of Azula, I still remember a lot of the good times we had with her back in the Royal Fire Nation Academy for Girls."

"I do too," Ty Lee admitted. "But then I remember her last year, and I just shudder. She was always a bit scary, but she crossed a line."

Mai nodded and then tossed the shuriken onto the bed. "Ty Lee, I have something to tell you."

Mai recounted the details of the Dai Li and the worries she and Zuko had about what it might mean, and then asked Ty Lee to keep an eye on them.

"Of course!" Ty Lee beamed. "It's been ages since I've hung around with the Dai Li. It'll be a pleasure to watch them from the other side."

Mai allowed herself a small smile that faded as her eyes were once more drawn to the shuriken, and then around the room. There were so many things to remind her of days past in this room. So many painful things. "Ty Lee..." Mai began, hesitant.

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you to do one more thing?"

"What?"

Mai beckoned her closer and then whispered something in her ear. Ty Lee drew back, eyes wide and fearful. The fear faded quickly though, leaving something that was rarely seen. A tired, mournful expression on Ty Lee's usual happy face. She nodded seriously to Mai, and then bent backwards until she was on her hands. Backwards and on her hands was how she exited.

Mai sat there for a minute longer in a stupor, and then shook herself into action. She grabbed her weapon and tucked it into her shirt, near her heart as a token to remind of her times when she was a more normal girl, with happy friends. Then she got up and left Azula's room, blowing out the light as she did so and closing the door firmly. It was time to find Zuko, who had probably packed their things and readied an air balloon to take them to Aang in the Earth Kingdom.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you Brandishing No.2 Pencils for your kind reviews and ideas! I appreciate your words and it's reviews like yours that motivate to keep on writing. :) **

**Chapter Five:**

"I hate flying." Mai was leaning over the edge of the Fire Nation balloon with a green face while Zuko, concealed by a plain, dingy brown cloak shot fire continuously into the furnace to keep them in the air.

"If you think this is bad you should try a flying bison. At least this balloon doesn't groan and moan, and have sudden urges to drop to the ground because it's tired."

"At least he's cuter," Mai said, lifting her head a little to look at Zuko.

"I thought you didn't care for girly stuff like that?" Zuko raised an eyebrow, confusion rampant in his voice.

"I don't."

"Oh."

An awkward silence fell. Even being married for months, the two of them had their moments where they had no clue how to relate or even talk to one another.

"Did I tell you about the trip I took to the Boiling Rock in this thing?" Zuko asked, making an attempt at conversation.

"You mean the one where you locked me in a jail cell, and then I saved your life and got arrested by Azula?"

"Yep, that's the one."

Conversation attempt failed.

A few hours later, making it a whole day since they'd started out, Zuko broke the tense stillness once more. "Hey, look, Mai! The Earth Kingdom!"

"Great, how far til Ba Sing Se?"

"Uh..." he blushed, breaking off mid sentence and wishing he hadn't said anything, because now he just knew he was going to get flack for raising her hopes. "A good six hours."

She shot him an annoyed glare and then lay down on the floor of the balloon, wrapping her cloak around her and covering her head. "Don't talk to me til we're there."

"Right, I can do th-"

"Shh!"

Zuko once again turned miserably back to his flying and tried to focus only on what Aang might need help with, and not his angry wife lying a few feet away. Saying, at least, in his mind that she was a grump and maybe he should fly for an extra few hours to for the fun of it.

* * *

**A Few Days in the Fire Nation after Zuko and Mai left for the Earth Kingdom.**

Wei couldn't shake the feeling that someone was following him, and not just anyone. This was a different feeling of following than he'd ever had before and it put him on edge, making him shaky. Who could it be? He decided to go on a crazy little detour through the market place and then up through some of the residential areas of the city.

After a good forty-fve minutes he let himself relax an iota, and took a deep breath.

"Hey!"

"Ahh!" He jumped back, lashing out with his earth- hands that were the Dai Li specialty. "Who are you?"

A young lady was hanging upside down dangling from a food booth before him. She was wearing flexible pink pants and a tight fitting pink shirt. Her hair was in a high braid and there was a playful and happy grin on her face. Most of all, she looked really, really familiar.

"...I know you, don't I?"

"Yup!"

Slowly it was coming back to him. Azula had had friends, friends that had been impressive, but not nearly as captivating or coldly dangerous as Azula herself. "Ty Lee?" He put himself on his guard, remembering that she and Mai had once betrayed the princess, being thrown into the dungeons, only to be replaced by Zuko.

"That's me," she did a back flip off her perch and landed to face him. "I'm so flattered you remembered."

"What do you want?" He ignored her flirtation, now only feeling irritated that someone so trivial would have interrupted him on his way to report to their fearless leader.

She looked down, suddenly serious. "I wanted to know how Azula was doing. She was once my dearest friend. Believe it or not, I still care that she's not rotting away."

She _sounded _sincere, but Wei had no way of knowing if she was telling the truth, or trying to bait him into admitting that he still worked for the princess. "How should I know how the traitor is doing?" he said in a disgusted tone, turning as he spoke as if such a conversation was so inconsequential and traitorous that he couldn't be bothered with it."

"You forget," he could hear the smirk in her voice- how did such an innocent girl pull off such a sound? "That I've been following you for the past day and a half, and that I _know _you have seen my friend. So now tell me, what do you plan, and how is she doing?" There was a masked threat in her cheerful voice.

Trying for nonchalance, Wei subtly began earthbending, planning on trapping her in a pyramid in earth, but before he got close, she was suddenly behind him and making sharp jabs to his limbs, rendering him weak and immovable.

She looked around furtively and then dragged him into a nearby alley. By the Avatar state, how did such a little whip of a girl get so _strong? _"Now," she said sitting him up against the wall of a broken down building. "How's my friend?"

* * *

It had been a productive morning for Azula. She could practically feel the strength building up in her body. She tried to ignore the growing suspicion that her mind never returning to its natural prowess, but would remain in a half broken mess for the rest of her life. Each time this thought entered her mind she pushed it away by working herself until her body ached.

After one of these spells she was attempting to relax in the undeniably un-royal cell, her keen ears picked up the sound of rustling skirts and tapping feet. If those were the Dai Li then they were sloppy and would need a good lecture. Hadn't she already taught them how to move silently?

"Azula."

She started. It was not the Dai Li after all, but someone she had not been expecting.

She forced any overwhelmed emotions out of her voice and adopted a superior and patronizing tone. "Ty Lee? What are you doing here? I can't imagine this would be the place for you, of all people."

"I wanted to see you," Ty Lee said innocently.

"Oh, sure," Azula muttered. "So you can betray me again? Did Zuzu send you? Or those goody little Avatar pals? Are you here to assassinate me? To do that you have to actually come into the cell. Or are you afraid I'll have you dead before you can block my first chi channel?"

"Azula," Ty Lee's quiet voice cut into Azula's tirade and the mournful plea in it shut her up for a moment. She stared at her old friend in a stunned silence and then lowered her head, trying to hide behind the bangs that had once more grown in after her disastrous attempt at cutting them.

"Well, what do you want?" Azula tried to steady her voice, tried to keep the rising hysteria out of it.

"I _told _you, I just wanted to see you. How are you doing?"

Azula stared on in confusion at her one-time friend, unable to answer, completely floored as to what the real motive was. Ty Lee couldn't possibly be actually worried about her, could she? It's not like she cared or anything. She'd betrayed her. She hated her, didn't fear her enough. Azula lifted steady and burning eyes to face Ty Lee and hissed. "Go away you little traitor."

"Azula plea-"

Azula turned her back, ignoring the fresh tears in Ty Lee's voice. What a fool she was. What a silly little fool she always had been. She cared for nothing except for lightness and silliness and pink auras.

"Azula, I'm going to be back later. I'll bring boiled chicken-weasel with roasted chestnut sauce- your favourite. And I'm going to sit here until you talk to me, even if you never do."

Azula still refused to turn around, even after she heard the tip tapping of Ty Lee's feet as she fled the room, no doubt in tears.

How little Azula knew though. Ty Lee was not in tears, but had a cold steely expression on her face and she walked with purpose. She strode out of the prison in full day-light, meeting the guards' eyes and nodding her greetings. She returned to the palace where she exchanged her more comfortable pink, circus clothing for the Kyoshi uniform and went to join the other warriors for practice, all the while making vows in her head, though as to what nature... even she couldn't quite tell you.


	6. Chapter 6

** Brandishing No.2 Pencils: You are absolutely right. It's time for some Gaang appearances. Luckily for you, my muse had said the same thing. **

**Also, I always believed that Ty Lee knew more than she let on. It's just not possible for any of the characters in the original story to not be developed and deeper than the skin. (I say original because Korra has disappointed on that front)**

**Chapter Six. **

"Zuko!"

Zuko squinted through tired, blurry eyes at the forms running towards him. The balloon had landed in a clearing outside Ba Sing Se as directed by Sokka's message through the hawk. This hawk had already returned to his master it seemed, and was sitting quite contently on Sokka's shoulder. At least, he thought he saw Sokka. Seeing anything was a bit difficult.

"Hi guys," he raised a hand and then bent down to shake Mai awake only to find that she'd already jumped over the basket of the balloon and was greeting the Gaang.

"I have no clue how you look, but I'm guessing it's terrible," Toph said, feeling the uneven vibrations as Zuko stumbled out of the balloon and fell onto the ground, then rose shakily.

"Yeah, he pretty much looks awful."

"I'd like to see how you'd look starting a journey one night, the next day, and then the next night, Sokka." Zuko had started this speech by lifting a finger in his friend's face, but ended with both hands limply at his side and his head falling forward, too heavy for him to keep.

"You didn't sleep?" This was Aang, all innocent and clueless. "We always sleep on Appa."

"Balloons can't guide themselves, Aang," Mai spoke up, seeing that if Zuko was pestered in this state, he'd get angry- well, _angrier_ really fast.

"You know what? I have a sensible idea. You guys come with us back home, sleep a while, and then we start talking about why you're here."

"Marvellous idea, Katara! I knew I could count on you to know what to do," Aang threw an arm around her shoulder and then started walking through the clearing, into the opposite direction of the city. "C'mon."

They followed him, delving deeper into s patch of trees and bushes. "Maybe my sense of direction is off, but this isn't the way to Ba Sing Se," Mai said after a moment, her curiosity somewhat piqued.

"It isn't," Sokka agreed, his light mood evaporating. "But right now we can't afford to be there. It'll become clear in not too long."

They came to a mountain made completely of stone. "Move aside!" Toph came forward and put her hands on the wall. She widened the space between her legs and bent her knees, making her stance strong and unshakeable. Then she pushed the two sides of the mountain apart from each other to make a door, revealing a cave that was scarcely lit by a few holes from which sunlight peaked through.

It was obvious that the Gaang had been camping here a while. Bed rolls were set up around the remains of an old fired, cooking pots were scattered, water jugs, and Momo was sitting on a pack, digging through it for bits of fruit and nuts.

"Momo, that was my snack pack!" Sokka rushed forward, shooing the lemur off.

The rest entered as well, Toph last of all and then she shut the door behind them, leaving in an even darker cave. Aang created a flame in his hand that he sent into the fire place, and added a log.

Katara came up to Zuko's side, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder and leading him to the far end of the cave. A soothing sound of rushing water drowned out the droning of the kids only a few metres away. She laid a bed roll down and blanket, smoothing them with her hand. "Rest here; it's probably the quietest place. We'll wake you in a few hours."

Zuko scarcely had time to thank her before he had fallen asleep.

* * *

"So," Mai began, sitting down in front of the fire with the others. "What's going on?"

Aang sighed and poked a stick into the fire, playing with some of the coals. "The restoration movement isn't going like it was supposed to, and balance isn't returning. The war is over, but harsh feelings between nations aren't. There have been revolts in Ba Sing Se, both from Earth Kingdom folk and the Fire Nation Colonies. They don't want to return to the Fire Nation! They claim that they have just as much right as the Earth Kingdom because they've been living there for over a hundred years. Some of those families have never even been to the Fire Nation."

"You're skipping over the worst part," Katara interrupted. "There have been three assassination attempts on your life in the last month!"

"Yeah, that too." Aang groaned and put his head in his hands. "For this past year, all I had to do was end the war by defeating Fire Lord Ozai, but now he's defeated and things still aren't right. It's like we haven't finished the war. The Fire Nation has officially withdrawn and vowed to peace, but it just wasn't that easy. I don't know where to go from here or what to do! The world just isn't going back to normal."

"You can hardly expect it to," Toph said. "I mean, I'm the first to say that the first course of action is to knock some heads, but there's always follow up, and that's where we are now. It's like an ancient earthbending tale. There was an Earth Kingdom village built right in the side of a mountain, jutting out a bit. But the top of the mountain was unstable, and there was one particular large section that was threatening to collapse and crush them. One day an earthbender decided to remove the threat, and he pushed the rock to the other side of the mountain, saving the village. But such a huge action let lose a whole lot of other, smaller rocks. The village was saved, but at the same time it was still damaged by the consequences of his actions. We just beat Ozai three months ago, now we've got to do our best to block the smaller boulders." She paused, then said, "Except in this case they're a bit more than small rocks, and the village has already been scarred and damaged."

"Thanks Toph, that's really encouraging," the sarcasm in Sokka's voice was impossible to miss.

"I try, Sokka, I try."

"All of what you just said was putting what I said into story form," Aang said, his voice gaining in volume. "I _know _that there's more to do and that there are consequences, I knew that in the beginning."

"Did you?" The group turned to face the darker recesses of the cave that Zuko was emerging from, looking slightly more refreshed. "Did you really realize what a slippery slope this was? Or did you just assume that after my father was defeated that all the Fire Nation people who had grown up in the Earth Kingdom would just come skipping back to the Fire Nation singing Avatar songs?"

Aang didn't answer, just stared above at one small pin-prick hole from which dim light shone. "Maybe I didn't think it through. Maybe I thought that defeating Ozai was the easy part, but I don't need you to tell me that. I need to you to help me!"

"Shh," Sokka hissed. "Do you want someone to hear us and try to kill us again." Then he turned to Zuko, intrigued and kind of excited. "Do people really sing Avatar songs about the Avatar and his amazing group of friends- Toph the Blind Bandit, Katara the Water Master, Sokka the Boomerang-Space Sword guy..."

"How should I know?"

"Actually, yeah," Mai interjected. "You'd be surprised at how many girls in the Fire Nation alone write fan-songs and make up crazy stories in their heads about you."

"Really?" Aang was drawn from his slump momentarily. "Like what?"

"First of all, Suki is forgotten and Sokka is with Toph."

"What?"

"Never!" The two of them spoke over each other.

"As for you two," she faced Katara and Aang. "There's some controversy. Some think Katara likes Zuko, some think she likes you. The weirdest are the ones who leave Katara out of it, and decide that in their ideal world, it's Aang and Zuko."

Aang and Zuko shared a disgusted look. "How do you know all of this?" Zuko asked.

"Unlike you I spend time with normal people outside, not boring people in meeting rooms and throne rooms."

Toph spoke what they were all thinking bluntly. "They don't sound normal to me."

Everyone nodded solemnly, and then Aang moaned loudly. "Enough of this! We need to _do _something."

"Yes," Zuko said, reaching for his cloak. "First, though, I think I need to see what you're talking about for myself, so I know exactly what we're facing."

"That's probably the best course of action now," Sokka agreed. "Everyone disguise yourselves, and pack some food. This could be a long trip."

"Aren't we just going to Ba Sing Se?" Mai asked, taking her the buns at the top of her head out and running her hands through her long hair before putting it into a braid and throwing on her cloak. It was scruffy enough looking after having been slept in during the balloon ride, and then dragged on the cave's floor.

"No," Aang said, his shoulders sagging under the heaviness of his problems. "This stretches beyond Ba Sing Se."

* * *

Ty Lee walked confidently up to the prison entrance and then held up a sheet of paper with Mai's signature on it. "I have permission from the Fire Lady to interrogate and speak to the prisoner."

The guard nodded and let her pass. She fairly skipped through the prison until she came to Azula. "Hey Azula, did you like the chicken-weasel?"

Azula cast a contemptuous sneer at Ty Lee. "Yes, actually, and it's weasel-chicken, not chicken-weasel."

"Right! Anyway I have a surprise for you. You're coming out." Seeing Azula's confused expression, she quickly clarified. "I mean, for a walk. You're not coming _out, _just for a walk with me."

"You're not worried that I'll attack you and break free."

Ty Lee couldn't quite mask the pity in her voice as she gave a little giggle. "Even if you could bend, you look out of practice, and my chi blocking is used regularly, and I've been training in other kinds of fighting. I'm stronger now than I've ever been."

"Hmmph."

Ty Lee extracted a key from her pocket and opened the cell door, then unlocked the chains binding Azula's feet. "Come on." She was out the door in a moment, leaving Azula with two choices. To stay in the cell out of spite, or to give in to the temptation to feel air and wind. She gave in to the temptation.

Slowly and hesitantly, she tiptoed out of the cell to where Ty Lee was beaming just outside. Ty Lee grabbed her arm, causing Azula's hair on the back of her neck to rise, and she tensed. She tried to pull away, but Ty Lee was as strong as she claimed and Azula, in her weakened state, could do nothing. She took a deep breath and allowed herself to be lead outside.

The sun was bright, brighter than she had remembered, and tears streamed down her cheeks as the burning pain shot through her eyes and into her head, causing an awful head ache. She sneezed twice, and then glared at one of the prison guards who had had the gall to chuckle. Teach him! He caught her eyes and the smile left his face quickly. He paled and then looked away, causing Azula to be the one chuckling.

"We can only stay in the yard, but I thought it was better than nothing," Ty Lee said, pulling Azula away from her prey. "This way."

Azula had to admit it; she was enjoying the outdoors, even if every part of her yearned to feel only disgust for the awful world she lived in. But it wasn't an awful world, and it could have even been awesome and great, if only the plans of her father had been carried out.

She shook her head, dislodging those thoughts, and let her eyes drift to where the royal palace towered above the prison. A cold hand clenched around her heart, and tears actually threatened her eyes. Real tears, not ones brought on by the sun. She clenched her jaw and pushed them back. She had no use for such displays of emotion. Besides, it wasn't like she missed her old home. It had been stuffy, and, and-

She turned quickly, causing Ty Lee to start. "Azula?"

"Nothing, I just want to walk this way."

Ty Lee obliged, and they went the opposite direction.

_Azula_

Azula bit her lip, relying on the pain to keep her together.

_Azula, my daughter. _

No, not now. Please not now. She didn't want to have a fit now.

Her shoulders shook and she trembled. Now was not the time. She was strong. The strongest firebender in the Fire Nation. The cruel, coldly calculating, and brilliant princess. She wasn't weak, she had _never _been weak. That lady wouldn't bring upon any weakness in the open. Bad enough in the cell, but as long as Azula had any control, it would not happen in the open.

The tall, dark-haired woman with a gentle face (no, with the dangerous, calculating, look promising of trickery,) began to fall away from Azula's vision.

"Azula?" Ty Lee was searching Azula's eyes, sympathy and sincere (no, not sincere; traitor,) worry evident.

"I'm fine," Azula said, straightening. "The sun has just brought on an awful head ache. How do people actually live here?"

"Do you want to go back?"

"Yes," Azula said. "Return me now."


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks so much to the new reviewers! Oh, and Dante Alighieri1308, just a quick little clarification. It was probably not very clear, but Mai asked Ty Lee something. That will be important later on, so just thought I'd give it a mention. :) **

**Thank you again! And please enjoy!**

**(Oh, I should mention, because November is right around the bend, my updates may be a bit more staggered. With November comes NaNoWriMo and a lot of my writing juices go into that, but I'll definitely keep writing this. Just maybe at a bit of a slower pace.)**

* * *

Ba Sing Se looked nothing like Zuko remembered. When he'd lived there with Uncle it had been quite a peaceful- almost disturbingly so- city, with hundreds of people all going about daily lives. There had been little to no war-related violence, limiting all crimes to solely the usual ones of thievery, mobbing, and the occasional drunken brawl.

Now, though, everything was different. The war that had been so successfully kept outside the city walls by Long Feng and his agents had finally, one hundred years later, made its way into the city. As old neighbours, friends, and business owners revealed Fire Nation blood in their past, the people of the Earth Kingdom were suddenly much less inclined to deal with them in a friendly manner, if at all.

Likewise, those of Fire Nation descent who had escaped as refugees from their own country balked at the prospect of returning to the Fire Nation and let the authorities know that clearly. They fought back against the deportation organizations, and the Earth King himself. They started riots in influential squares and streets that were snuffed out only after a fight between the police, the rioters, and whoever else got caught up in the hard feelings.

It was one of these riots that they arrived in the middle of. They climbed out of the earth tunnel that Toph created, since going through the gates like an ordinary person was impossible. Aang tensed noticeably under his cloak and hood, and Toph put a hand on his shoulder hissing, "Don't, it's not the right time."

Aang glanced her way in annoyance, but ceded to her judgement for truly, who knew the rights and wrongs of timing like Toph did? The way she listened to the earth seemed to give her an uncanny way of listening to things separate than the earth as well.

At the head of the riot was a young woman. She was distinctly Fire Nation with the pitch black hair and blazing fire in her eyes. Her hair was short, cut to just above her ears, and stuck out in an unmanageable way. She was standing on the top of a wall, yelling at the top of her lungs. "Will we be driven away because of our evil nation?"

"NO!" The crowd replied.

"Will we allow the Earth King to sentence us to a life of tyranny in the Fire Nation? That Nation that we grew up in fear of?"

"NO!"

"But _YOU'RE _Fire Nation," another cried. "Go back where you belong!"

"I'm Earth Kingdom," The girl shouted back. "I've lived here all my life and don't intend to stop now! Am I going to let some puny boy with an arrow head force me somewhere I don't want to go? You bet not!"

Roaring erupted from the crowd, both in booing and cheering.

"Go back home, dirty slugs!"

"Who are ya callin' dirty?"

One yelled, someone pushed, and just like that swords were drawn, flames erupted, and chunks of earth came shooting out from all directions.

"Okay," Toph said, digging her feet in, and spitting in her hands. "_Now!" _

In a flash, Team Avatar threw back their cloaks. They fought, but not to hurt or kill, only to disable.

"There he is!" The girl's voice rose to hysterical levels. "Kill him! Tyrant! The new Ozai! Kill him!"

Despite her angry pleas, there was something about the Avatar's presence that caused the riot to break up, and for people to run. Whispers could be heard saying, "don't get close. He'll take away your bending if he catches you doing something wrong!"

In the end only a few people were left, the girl being one of them. She still stood on the wall, eyes filled with hate and she glared down at Aang who created a ball of wind to roll up the side of the wall.

"Don't come near me," she growled. "You filthy mutt. You're no better than any of the people who destroyed this world." The second part was directed at Zuko who, with his scar, was easily recognizable.

"Wait!" Aang called as she jumped down on the other side of the wall. "Why are you so mad? Talk to us!"

She just glanced back at them with one more sneer, and then jogged off, shooting some random fire balls behind her.

"So," Mai said. "A couple of measly riots. It was easily dealt with."

"That's not it," Katara murmured, bending down beside Aang who had sat on the ground, his knees to his chest.

"Did you hear what she said? She said I was like Ozai. How am I like Ozai?"

"You're not," Zuko said. "I should know."

"But that was a bad one," Toph said, kneeling in the ground picking up some hot debris. "The riots are getting bigger and worse. People were hurt, I think."

"Yeah, but they were cleared away when we showed our faces, because now I'm going to take everyone's bending away." Aang hit his hand against his head. "I did it once... or twice, but they needed it. It wasn't safe to have Ozai or Azula keeping their bending."

"I'm sure if any of the people actually thought about it they'd realize that, Aang," Katara said.

"It's just that things are changing and they need someone to blame. As a new figure of power, you're an obvious choice," Sokka put in, earning a few elbows in the side.

Toph paused mid hit and the expression on her face became increasingly concerned. "Oh, no, no."

"What?" Aang jumped up, ready for action. "What is it?"

"Zuko, your Uncle's tea shop is around here, right?"

"Yeah..." as he translated the panicked look in her eyes, he took off running in the direction of it, following some sounds of shouting and smashing.

"Oh no," Mai exclaimed, causing the others to stare at her for a moment in astonishment before bursting after Zuko themselves.

They could smell and hear the trouble before they actually saw it. A few screams, plenty of angry yells, and the smell of burning wood, as well as the bitter smell of burning cloth. "Burn the Fire Nation Prince's house!" "Burn!" "Burn!" "It's fitting for a lousy former prince of the Fire Nation, isn't it old man?"

The sight was worse than they could have imagined. Even Toph could sense the hatred in the air.

"You tried to take Ba Sing Se from us!"

"I took it back for you," Iroh said simply, no affectations or defensive qualities in his tone.

"That's what you say. But you were Ozai's very own brother. You expect us to believe your peaceful protestations?"

"Now that we're free from the Fire Nation, it's time to eradicate all traces from our land!"

"That," Aang muttered to the group, "Is exactly what we're trying to do."

Zuko and Mai shared a look of discomfort, but chose not to disagree at the moment, since Iroh was by far more important.

"I say we execute him. As the Avatar should have done to Ozai, we will bring justice by destroying this member of the family that tore our world apart."

"Why doesn't he fight?" Mai asked Zuko, confused as Iroh just held his head high and allowed the angry tormentors to crowd him.

"If he fights he proves them right. He can't do that, Uncle isn't like that. But there's nothing wrong with us fighting for him." With that, he drew his hood low on his face, hiding his scar through the first layer of hair, and then the second layer of cloth, and then leaped into the fray, planting a careful kick to the back of the one of the attacker's head. This attacker in particular had a broad sword- one weapon Zuko would be able to use. That way he wouldn't have to reveal himself as fire bender and Fire Lord. The rioter stumbled and dropped the sword he'd held, which Zuko snatched up quickly.

"What!?" An outraged rioter yelled, turning from where he'd been threatening Iroh to Zuko. Zuko readied his stance, lifting the sword in preparation for a fight. As he'd expected, the leader of this group, a middle aged man, dropped the issue of Iroh and focused solely on Zuko. He began bending rocks, sending them flying towards Zuko's face, looking with surprise as Zuko ducked, and then blocked some with his sword. The sort of swordplay that took years to master, which it had. It had been an indulgence of his as a child. He'd always felt it wise to have something other than his firebending. His father hadn't disagreed per se, but then, he hadn't told him either.

Mai and Sokka also jumped into the group, readying sword and shuriken. Toph growled, "Blast it, I'm gonna fight too! I like that old man!" She banged her foot down onto the ground and sent a pillar of earth shooting into one of the people.

"If she can fight, I can fight," Aang said. "If I use earth bending, no one will know I'm the Avatar."

"I dunno..." Katara said, glancing around. "But, I guess."

The two of them joined the rest. Talented benders that they were, it didn't take long for them to send the rioters packing. As usual, their barks and had been louder than their bites.

"Uncle," Zuko bent down next to his uncle who was still sitting.

"Zuko," Iroh smiled at his nephew, and then winced. "Could you, uh, give me a hand here?"

Iroh had been tied down, the ropes cutting into his wrists. Using one of Mai's shurikens, they soon cut the bonds away and then Katara put her wet hands on Iroh's wrists, soothing the rope burns there.

"Come," Iroh said, rising as soon as she was finished. "We've got to leave this place."

"Yeah," Aang agreed, crossing his arms. "We're going back to the cave for the night. We can continue showing Zuko and Mai the countryside tomorrow. We spent more time here than I thought I would."

"Do you want us to stop by the shop first, Uncle? Get some of your things?"

"No," Iroh said, sadness etched into the old wrinkles that lined his face. "No use. Let's just go."

The group went as quickly as they were able until they came to the edge of the city, right next to the inner wall. They were in shadows, so far unseen by the Earth Kingdom warriors and guards. Toph steadied herself and then dug away into the wall, creating a path for them that was covered up as quickly as they passed through it.

In about an hour or so, they were back at the cave with a fire on the go, and tea in a pot that Iroh had carried with him on his person. He was always prepared, that one. At least, for a tea party.

For the first minutes the Gaang had sat in heavy silence, but then Iroh began to speak. "I suppose, Fire Lord, I should tell you of the things transpiring in Ba Sing Se."

"Yes," Zuko said with a nod. "And don't call me Fire Lord."

"Well," Iroh began slowly, twisting his mug in his hands, obviously reluctant to speak. "It started awhile back, after the initial joy of the end of the war, rumblings of the cities and colonies began. They simmered for a while, but it seems like they're on the verge of coming to a full boil." He sighed, took a sip of tea, and then continued. "It all began with little things. Citizens waking up from the stupor they'd lived in, believing in no war. All of a sudden neighbours remembered that the people they had known for these years had roots in the Fire Nation, or had been refugees from there. Hatred sprung up, and the Earth Kingdom began to torment those of the Fire Nation descent. All the while the movement to return people to their original homes was taking place, and Fire Nation families that had their roots in Earth soil dug in, refusing to go. Some of them were intermarried with one child a fire bender, and one an earth bender. What in idea seemed so simple became increasingly complicated."

Aang nodded soberly. "I'm seeing that, but don't the Fire Nation people have to return home to restore balance?"

Iroh shrugged. "I wish I could tell you the answer, Avatar, but I don't know. In this case, there is no simple right or wrong."

"But what about _you, _Uncle? What's been happening to you?"

"Obviously, the brother of Ozai was the logical target. It started with little things; stealing from shop, crashing the windows, but escalated until they began lighting it on fire, threatening me, starting riots in the shop and hurting the customers. Business dwindled to nothing, and soon all my day was spent re-fixing the shop and barring it from the people who hated so- both the Earth people and those of the Fire Nation."

Iroh tugged on his beard, and then said in little more than a whisper. "Other Fire Nation people have not come out as favourably as I have. There have been murders, whole families set to die because they've been fired from jobs, had their food stolen away, and their houses smashed to pieces."

Tears sprung up in Katara's eyes. "It's getting worse every single day."

Even Mai showed emotion. "Those are our people, even if they don't believe it themselves. We have to do something, Zuko."

"But what?" Zuko and Aang had mirrored looks of responsibility and grief. "How can we eliminate a hundred years worth of prejudice and hate?"

"We need to show the two types of people that neither are wrong," Aang said. "We need to show the Earth people that the Fire Nation colonies are good. And we need to provide a way for the people who have lived here for over a century to stay in their homes, but there's no way it'll be accepted by the Earth King or by the Water Tribe chiefs. They both want complete separation. So do I, but it looks like it won't be possible."

"We need to talk to them," Sokka said, his mind racing ahead with ideas. "We need to set up a council between the four nations and explain the problem. But we need to make sure Ba Sing Se is stable. I vote that Zuko and Aang try to set up a council, with Katara and Mai for help, while Toph, Iroh, and I try to keep things level here."

"Hmm," Katara said, fiddling thoughtfully with one of her hair loopies. "We should sleep on the idea, then see the colonies and towns tomorrow. After that we can decide what needs to be done. Your plan might be a good one Sokka. We'll see."

Toph yawned. "I'm with the whole sleeping on the idea. "I'm exhausted."

Many heads nodded in agreement, and the ordeal of setting up bedrolls and blankets began. Mai quietly came over to Sokka and tapped him on the shoulder. "Could I borrow your messenger hawk to send a message back home to the palace? I left Ty Lee with some instructions and would like to know how she's faring."

"Sure," Sokka said with a shrug. "Do you need paper?"

"No, I'm fine." With that she took the messenger hawk from his roost and carried him over to the mouth of the cave. She slipped out a rolled piece of paper that she'd already found time to write on. "Fire Nation palace, Ty Lee," she whispered to the bird, and then watched as he soared up through the sky, flying in the direction of home.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey! Sorry that I haven't been updating. Who knew that Grade Twelve would be a busy year? Also, NaNoWriMo. So much writing O_O, but I love it, so I'm not really complaining. **

**Here's the next chapter. Hopefully I'll be able to write the next one by next week. **

* * *

"What was that Ty Lee?" Suki passed Ty Lee on a staircase and furrowed her brows. This was all sorts of weird. _One, _it was really, really early in the morning. Suki had just finished a guard shift and was heading straight for her bed. Ty Lee wasn't on the schedule tonight, and Ty Lee protected her sleep with gusto. _Two, _Ty Lee had a messenger hawk perched on the rail just above her shoulder. She was reading a letter of some sort. Ty Lee read?

"Just a letter from Mai asking about how things are doing here?"

"Do you want me to see it?" Her intent was honourable. She was the leader of the Kyoshi warriors, it made sense that Mai would ask her to report about the goings on.

Ty Lee shook her head. "Nah, it was some personal business of hers that she wanted me to look into. Nothing big enough to trouble you guys. Gosh," she quickly changed the subject. "You look exhausted."

"I haven't slept in about thirty-two hours," Suki admitted. "I was on my way to bed." She put a hand on the banister, startling the messenger hawk a bit, but not quite enough to scare him into motion. She narrowed her eyes at him, then brightened. "Is that Sokka's Hawky?"

"I think so."

"They found Sokka!" Despite being tired, Suki became excited. "He's okay! Or is he? Would he just lend Hawky out? Well, to the Fire Lady, yes. But-"

Ty Lee giggled and placed a hand on Suki's shoulder. "Go to bed."

"Good idea." With a wide face-splitting yawn, Suki left the room, heading straight for the guardroom level of the palace on the ground floor. She mumbled a bit to herself, her words impossible to pick out, but definitely containing Sokka's name.

When she was safely out of sight, Ty Lee continued her travels up to the upper level where the royal family lived. She found Azula`s room and sat on the bed, bringing her legs up overtop of a head so that she looked like a pretzel. She stationed the slip of paper so that she could read the few lines again. For some bizarre reason she found this improved her reading skills, which weren`t any good at the best of times.

_Ty Lee, _

_ Things aren`t good here, in fact, they`re bad. You know that if I`m the one saying that it has to be true. Anyway, how is Azula? You are keeping an eye on her, right? How's the prison treating her? I'd like a full report. Not now, sent by Sokka's stupid hawk, but when I get back. _

_ Mai. _

No instructions for what she was supposed to be doing. No real news. Nothing to go on. It was almost enough to make her frustrated. Almost. Luckily, she had enough optimism to make up for the complete lack of it that Mai and Azula had. Pessimists.

Now it was up to her to decide what action to take. Ty Lee didn`t like that much. She liked doing things, yes, but she liked having someone else being the strategist.

She rolled over on the bed so that she was on her side, facing a portrait down of the girls that hung on Azula`s wall. "I guess I could... visit her again."

No, no. No! She jumped up, zooming out of the room and down the stairs. Of course she knew what she'd do. It was obvious. Duh! _Ty Lee, _she told herself, _you aren't always an idiot. _

* * *

The air inside the house the Dai Li had rented was easy going. Out of uniform, the soldiers looked like regular people, individual from one another. A game of dice was taking place on one table, a game of pi-sho on another, and the other tables were surrounded by benches that held the other's. They were sitting, talking, and drinking together, something that had never happened in Long Feng's time, or Azula's. In those days they'd had to be on their guard at every moment, waiting for a strike or for an insubordination that called from their services. Any sign in Ba Sing Se that anyone was breaking free from the holds of the city and they needed to track the person down and 'remind' them what really was going on. There was no war.

Now there really wasn't a war, and they needed to figure out what to do with themselves. Honestly, not all were as agreed with Wei that they ought to free Azula and then work for her.

"Why not return home," one of the more tipsy Dai Li men muttered.

"What home?" One of the others replied, staring gloomily into the bottom of his empty tankard. "My Da died in the war, and my Ma went somewhere, I don't even know where. Not like she'd care if I came home or not."

"You know that one of Long Feng's requirements for becoming a Dai Li was to have little or no communication or relationship with family. They'd just get in the way of our job."

"I don't even have one," a different man replied, tears in the corners of his eyes. "Family died years ago, I scarcely remember them."

"Then why are you crying?" snapped one of Wei's right hand men, Hui. "If you don't know them, you've nothing to cry over."

"I can cry over the loss of them, can't I?" the man who'd spoken yelled back. "Or are you so heartless you don't even care about your family?"

Hui slammed his cup down, before muttering. "If they'd cared about me, maybe I'd have cared. They didn't have 'enough money,'" the last bit was spoken in a high mimic. "To feed a child, but they had enough to go to the weekly earthbending matches. Didn't matter that I was an earthbender either."

The rest of the men at the table awkwardly stopped talking. Wu-Ning, the other one who'd been at Wei's side during the interview with Zuko looked at Hui with compassion. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" Hui grunted, then downed his drink. "Doesn't matter."

Wu-Ning winced, already wishing he'd kept his mouth shut. No one spoke for several minutes, but then a figure came flying in through the window. "Hey boys!" Pushing the hood of her cape back, Ty Lee beamed at them.

"What!?" Several backed away, getting into their earthbending stances.

"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you." She grinned, turning a cartwheel until she was in the center of the room. "I was bored and wanted to go out for a while. Thought I'd join you." She dropped into a chair and lounged in it loosely. "Remember the good old days? Controlling Ba Sing Se... Azula..."

"We remember," one said blandly. No one else responded. They just watched her carefully. Not nervous, exactly, since they outnumbered her, but definitely watchful.

"What do you want?" another one asked. "What do you really want?"

"I'm bored," she said again. "Also, I needed a break from the palace. Also, I wanted to talk to you guys about Azula."

Immediately everyone's faces went blank, pupils dilating. "We don't know what you're talking about."

"Ugh," Ty Lee groaned, tugging at the end of her braid. "Seriously? He's pulling that trick? Okay. Where' s Wei then?"

"Uh, upstairs?"

"I think so."

"Yeah, yeah, he should be upstairs."

"Uh," this came from a younger agent. "I could go upstairs. With you. Guide you, I mean..."

"Thanks!" She darted for the stairs, taking them in double time.

"Wow." The young guy said to no one really.

"You never really get used to any of them," another one murmured, running a hand over his face. "They're so weird."

"But cute."

"Yes, definitely cute."

Ty Lee peered down the hall at the row of doors. "Which one is his?" She chewed on her lip, trying to puzzle it out. "Oh, the biggest one!" She opened the largest door and looked in.

One of the Dai Li agents was inside, entertaining a young lady. They both blushed.

"Ooop, sorry." The door closed with a thunk. "Okay, then, biggest didn't work. I guess I just try them all." It took her four more times to find the right door.

The door creaked as she opened. Wei was sitting with his back to her, facing the window. "I thought I told you all to knock before entering." He turned. "Oh. Ty Lee, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk about the plan," she said.

"I thought we went over it all already."

"I doubt it." She perched herself on the desk top. "If you've actually hypnotized your men into believing that there is no plan to do with Azula, then I can assume you haven't told me everything. Why did you hypnotize them anyway?"

"Because we're suspicious. People know we were Azula's personal soldiers. If anyone asks any of the Dai Li about it, they can honestly say that they don't know anything. She's in prison, we have nothing to do with her, etc..."

"Tell me the truth. What do you intend to do?"

"We're going to get her out of jail and put her on the throne."

"Why?"

"I thought you were with us."

Ty Lee tugged on her braid again, a nervous tic of hers, and then said hesitantly, "I think I am. I mean, I want her out of prison. I just want to know why you want her on the throne. She's not exactly what I'd call mentally stable."

"Because she's strong."

Ty Lee held up her hand and waved it in the air. "Uh, the mental thing? She's a strong fighter, but right now she's weak emotionally. At the core of her being, she's shaky and not strong at all."

Wei sneered. "Azula's weakness is never as weak as we might think it is."

_That's where you're wrong, _Ty Lee thought. _We all thought she was indestructible. Look at her now; she can't even go outside without having some sort of panic attack. _

"If you say so, but you still haven't answered why."

"Because Azula had ideals."

Ty Lee lifted an eyebrow.

There was fire in Wei's eyes, he was alight with some sort of... passion? What? "She saw the world as it could be, she was ruthless, brilliant, and strong. She saw that there is more to the world than 'balance.' Balances can change, people can change, the world can change. She could have made it a stronger world, a world with no weakness; built on the pillars of steady earth and burning flame."

_He's insane. He's really insane. _Ty Lee tried not to gape. What she said aloud was, "she was ruthless, yes."

Wei clasped his hands, putting them in his lap, and stared at her, trying to read her. Luckily, she was happy. That's all he could read. That she was happy, happy, happy! She concentrated on how pink her aura was. "Don't you want your friend out of that prison?"

"Yes," she said truthfully, _but if I had to choose a leader on the throne, it would be Zuko. _"There's nothing I want more than Azula to be set free."

"Then you'll help me?"

"I already told you that I would."

"You've been to see Azula, yes?"

"A few times."

"Good. I'm guessing that it'll only be a few more weeks before we can bust her out, making it look like she did it on her own, of course. We had nothing to do with it."

"Of course," she agreed.

"Tell her that we're almost ready. That the people are getting angry, that we've set up the 'station' and have been working out of it."

"What station?"

Wei smiled mysteriously and shrugged. "I guess you'll find out."

It was a dismissal, so she stood, left the room and went back to the mess hall downstairs, where she pushed aside all her fear of the future by talking with boys, laughing with them and drinking a bit. They seemed to have gotten over their initial nervousness of her when she'd made her entrance and were more than happy to play dice and talk about their lives. It would have been a relaxing time if her mind wasn't turning somersaults, replaying the way that Wei had said the word "station" over and over again.


End file.
